South Carolina Landmark To Become 100-Plus Room Hotel

COLUMBIA, SC— By way of a planned $15-million conversion project, the landmark Palmetto Building here will be transformed into a hotel by developer Rick Patel, according to a local report. Patel, who is the CEO of Sej-wad Hotels, owns eight hotels in Columbia and plans on turning the Palmetto Building into one with more than 100 rooms. He hopes to open the property by late summer 2006. The hotel is expected to include meeting and conference rooms and will still feature the Sherlock Holmes Pub, which is currently located in the building’s basement. The published report noted that Enterprise Bank, which is selling the asset to Patel, could close on the disposition within 30 to 60 days.